2077: V really knows how awesome he is

“No need for that.” Gant Odim was surprisingly reliable: “I can take you to the non-material world.”

V was slightly surprised: "You have this kind of ability? I thought that higher-dimensional demons were only good at manipulating time."

“If we were only good at manipulating time, we would be called time demons. In fact, we are also very good at three-dimensional space (length, width, height), and when we add the fourth dimension of time, we would be called high-dimensional demons. The reason I always manipulate time is simply because I like to manipulate time.”

V nodded and said sincerely, "I understand. Your racial talents are truly enviable."

"We also envy human creativity. In just a few thousand years, they have invented countless fun things. Without you, we demons would be bored to death," Gant Odim said sincerely.

V believes that human creativity extends beyond inventing fun things, but she also feels that this is not the time to discuss that issue.

The AI ​​and the demon finished their mutual flattery and returned to the main topic.

“I can take you to the non-material world, but you need to think carefully,” Gant Odim said earnestly. “The Echoing Night is an incredibly powerful being, far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Rather than trying to defeat an invincible enemy, it’s better to choose a simpler method.”

"Aren't you going to activate time technology?"

“That’s right, this is the safest way. Why do you think you’re standing here? It’s because you’ve failed at everything before.”

"How many times did I fail?" V asked.

Gant Odim held up one finger.

"One hundred times?" V asked tentatively.

The high-dimensional demon chuckled: "Just consider it as a hundred times."

V knew she was wrong, but she didn't dare ask what the truth was.

“High-dimensional demons can also travel through time. Even if they are ‘swimming,’ they will definitely create ripples. With ripples, there will be reflections, and with reflections, there will be cycles. How did you deal with the Night of Echoes?” V tried to learn from their experience.

Gant Odim made no secret of it: "Our approach to the Echoing Night is to do nothing. When the ripples caused by a high-dimensional demon are enough to trigger a time loop, the demon will end up taking its own life."

"What if that demon is unwilling to end its own life?"

“Then the other demons will help him end his own life.” Gant Odim shrugged. “This tradition has lasted for over a million years. It’s a bit cruel, but that’s how higher-dimensional demons survive.”

V frowned and said, "Isn't anyone going to try to defeat Echoing Night?"

"Of course there are. About seven or eight hundred thousand years ago, the higher-dimensional demons were still very foolish and naive, constantly spouting nonsense like 'My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens,' just like a recent college graduate who always thought he was omnipotent. They launched attacks on the Echoing Night time and time again, and as a result, they successfully made themselves the number one endangered species on the list of the universe. In the end, they could only face reality and choose the method I mentioned."

V's brow furrowed further: "Even the combined power of the entire high-dimensional demon race couldn't defeat it... Is Echoing Night that powerful?"

"Of course, I already said that before."

"Because it is a non-material world, the Echoing Night has no physical form? It cannot be killed, nor can it be eradicated?"

"No, the Echoing Night has mass and volume; it is a physical entity."

"Is it because conventional weapons cannot be used in the non-material world?"

"No, the non-material world is made up of energy, and energy is waves, which can collapse into particles. Therefore, all material weapons can be used in the non-material world."

"Since the enemy is material and can use all kinds of material weapons, there must be a way to win."

"The higher-dimensional demons thought the same thing back then, and you heard how it turned out." Gant Odim shrugged and countered, "Do you know why the Night of Echoes is also called the Night of Recollections?"

"why?"

“Because it is the echo of time, and also the recollection of the time traveler.” Gant Odim explained: “The Night of Echoes is the embodiment of time reflection, and time reflection is simply the past time bouncing back. So the Night of Echoes is not a giant monster that likes to eat nuclear waste, nor is it an Eastern sorcerer who discovered that the earth is round, but the time traveler himself who caused the time loop phenomenon.”

"Recalling the past?" V asked thoughtfully.

“That’s right. The stronger the transmigrator, the stronger the Echoing Night becomes. And the hardest thing for a person to overcome is themselves, so the Echoing Night is also difficult to defeat.” Gant Odim asked, “V, do you know how awesome you are?”

V nodded: "I know."

"Very well, you think you're as awesome as Echoing Night, but do you still think you can defeat it?"

V cannot answer.

Can she overcome herself?

She doesn't know either.

“Think it over carefully,” said Gant Odim. “The Night of Echoes will arrive at midnight thirteen days from now. I will come back then, and hopefully you will give me a different answer.”

The high-dimensional demon is gone. He's still circling around the big bird, and he has another scheme up his sleeve. V sits on the sofa, quietly thinking.

Thirteen days later.

The two reunited in the abandoned warehouse.

“Have you thought it through? I hope I get the answer I want to hear,” Gant Odim spoke first.

"Sorry, I don't have the answer you want, but I've brought what you want." V said, tossing over a paper document.

When Gant Odim looked at it, he saw it was an ID card, a Chengdu household registration.

The demon sighed, "You still chose this path."

V smiled: "Sorry, getting older makes me stubborn. I'd like to see just how powerful the Night of Echoes is."

Gant Odim put his ID card in his pocket: "Let's go."

V was slightly surprised: "Huh, is that all? I thought we were going to have a debate."

“No need. I’ve already debated enough. You haven’t changed your mind at this stage, so I’m too lazy to waste my breath.”

Thanks.

"There's no need for that. If you lose, you won't remember any of this; if you win, you can even defeat the Echoing Night, which is more powerful than a high-dimensional demon. I'll be too busy currying favor with you to ask you to thank me."

V exclaimed in surprise, "Is it that clear?"

"After all, we've had this kind of conversation many times before, and we've already figured out the ins and outs of it."

"Like reviewing an argument countless times?"

"This is much more frustrating than arguing, because no matter how much I review, I can't win the argument."

V laughed. She was probably the first person to make a high-dimensional demon so helpless.

“Let’s go.” Gant O’Dim sighed again. “If we leave now, we can still catch the last subway.”

"The subway?" V followed the higher-dimensional demon's footsteps. "The Echoing Night appears in Night City? Where are we going?"

Gant Odim gave four words: "Arakasa Beach".

Arakasa Beach is located in the westernmost part of the Watson District, right next to the sea. Arakasa built docks and warehouses here, turning it into a huge logistics center.

The rules here are simple: if you're not from Arasaka, leave now. The automated warehouses here process and store tens of thousands of shipments every month, then distribute them worldwide. As for what's being shipped, don't ask, and don't guess.

The Arasaka beachfront is surrounded by a reinforced high wall and additional security measures. Officials claim this is to protect Arasaka's property from gangsters, street cleaners, nosy reporters, and accidentally lost Watson residents, but everyone knows that the real reason is definitely not that.

V and Gant O'Dim first took the subway to Medical Center station, then borrowed a car from the roadside and drove west and then north to the intersection of California Street and Pershing Street, entering the Arasaka waterfront area from the south.

They stopped by the roadside after coming off the overpass. Both sides of the road were lined with Arasaka properties, with signs and billboards bearing the word "Arasaka" everywhere. At the main entrance of Arasaka Beach, there were a large number of armed guards, and even though it was midnight, they showed no signs of letting their guard down.

V scanned the area without making a sound: "Twenty Arasaka Samurai, seven Ranger armored mechs, and two full-strength elite assault teams, all armed to the teeth. This place is even more heavily guarded than Arasaka Tower. How come I didn't notice it when I went there?"

"Don't even mention you, even the boss of Arasaka probably doesn't know that he has deployed a large number of troops here."

Why is this happening?

"Don't be nervous, it's just a little trick to time things out. It's mainly to ensure that Echoing Night can pass through smoothly and will not affect the overall situation."

V wanted to ask more questions, but the guards noticed their car, and a security team walked towards them.

“They’ve found us,” V whispered.

Gant Odim wasn't surprised: "After all, we didn't hide anything."

"What I mean is, what should we do? Should we start fighting and charge in?"

"Don't be so violent, V. Use your position as the vice-head of the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department to think of a solution."

"Huh, will they listen to me?"

"You know more about Arasaka's hierarchy than I do, don't you?"

"No, what I mean is, aren't they placed here by Time to protect Echoing Night? Although I have absolutely no idea how Time commands the Arasaka employees."

"By accumulating countless coincidences, one can naturally create countless possibilities, just like having a gorilla write out the complete works of Shakespeare, which is a piece of cake in terms of time."

V seemed to understand: "You mean...?"

"The fact that they're staying here is just a trick of time, but what keeps them here is still Arasaka's documents and orders."

"Simply put, they are still ordinary people, not time-controlled puppet soldiers like in science fiction novels."

"answer!"

"Then I'm relieved." V straightened his collar, opened the door, and got out of the car.

The approaching security team immediately went on alert, raising their guns in preparation for firing. The team leader shouted, "Halt! Keep your hands where I can see you! You can't come in here. This is company property. Leave immediately!"

“I actually made it in.” V put on his work badge and switched to “company dog” mode: “Counterintelligence investigation, internal supervision.”

"Ha, internal surveillance? You'd better turn around and disappear before I..."

"Name!" V interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

"Huh?" The squad leader was taken aback.

V repeated: "Your name, Sentinel!"

The squad leader swallowed hard. "Why don't you tell me your name first? Look, nobody told me what's happening today..."

"An ad-hoc inspection of sensitive and confidential information related to leak prevention?"

The squad leader's expression changed, and he froze on the spot. The fact that he could pronounce such an awkward name so fluently meant that he was definitely one of their own.

V sneered: "What's wrong? Should I make a call to the higher-ups? Do you really want to talk to Jenkins about how to cooperate with the temporary inspection process?"

"Mr. Jenkins? The head of counterintelligence?" The squad leader panicked, stammering, "I, uh... I didn't mean to..."

"Then open the gate for me right now, and get back to your post!"

"Of course, yes, I'll do as you say. What I mean is, I'm sorry, sir."

The squad leader, at a loss for words, said something in the communicator, and the main gate of Arasaka Beach slowly opened. V returned to the vehicle and drove in openly. The guards even saluted and saw him off, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the gate closed again.

“Well done, I haven’t seen such a brilliant lie in a long time,” Günter Odim praised.

"You flatter me. It's all just a memory of lost youth."

V parked the car in the parking space, glanced at the Arasaka guards patrolling back and forth on the Arasaka seaside pier, and frowned slightly: "There are still a lot of security personnel inside. Should we ask them to leave?"

"No need." The high-dimensional demon shook his head.

"Is it alright for them to see the Night of Echoes?"

"Don't worry, they can't see it."

Gant Odim snapped his fingers, and strange energy emanated from his fingertips. In an instant, the once vibrant world turned into a cold black and white. The moon was still the moon, the sea was still the sea, but all sound disappeared, as if the concept of sound had been removed from the world.

V looked around in surprise: "This is...?"

The higher-dimensional demon opened its arms: "Welcome to the non-material world, which you can also call the other side of the real world."

"Call it whatever you want." V took a deep breath: "Where is the Night of Echoes? Hasn't it arrived yet?"

No, it has already arrived.

Gant Odim pointed to the sea, and V followed his finger and saw a huge black shadow rising from the sea surface. It was a giant black jellyfish, exuding an ominous aura.

Chapter 195 An Unwinnable Battle

"What the hell is this thing?"

V was taken aback when he saw the black jellyfish.

“I should be the one asking that,” Gant Odim said, puzzled. “Aren’t you human? Why is your other side a jellyfish?”

V shook his head: "I am not human, I am a biological AI prototype."

“I see.” Gant Odim suddenly realized, then continued, “Aren’t you a biological AI? Why is the other side a jellyfish?”

“I’d like to ask that too, but now is clearly not the time to discuss these things.” V took off his coat. “It’s the Echoing Night, right? If we just take it down, we can stop the time reflection?”

"Yes."

"Okay, although it's as childish as a forced ending to a poorly written novel, it's not bad that it's so simple."

What do you want to do?